A Different Venus
by Venus Smurf
Summary: As Crystal Tokyo prepares for the resurrection of the Generals, Venus begins a journey into the past to visit with her former selves and the man they all loved...SenshiGenerals
1. Chapter 1

A.N.: Yes, another story. I can't help it. I get the ideas, and if I don't get them down right away, I lose them. Don't flame me over it! (Actually, Sassy-Chan already lectured me on finishing my other stories before I post new ones, so it's covered.) This story isn't going to be very long, though—at least, I don't think it will be—so I'll get back to the others soon. Promise.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go run away from Sassy. I think she's honestly going to kill me over this!

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"A Different Venus"

She stormed through the halls of the Crystal Palace, blonde hair flying out behind her, perfect features twisted in a scowl fierce enough to send the servants scattering out of her path. The servants were wise, in their own way, and they knew that only something truly catastrophic could have put the ever-smiling Queen of Venus in such a foul mood. Whatever it was, whatever it would mean for their own lives, it was infinitely safer to simply stay out of the angry blonde's way until she either calmed down or the world ended yet again.

And the woman who had once been known as Aino Minako—occasionally as Mina Loveless—the woman who was now the ruler of an entire world and the current commander of a solar system's armies, couldn't have cared less that she was terrifying the servants. This was bigger than a few frightened maids, and if she tried to contain any more of her anger than she already was, she'd probably implode.

As swiftly as she was moving, it wasn't long before Venus stood before the suite of rooms set aside for her living quarters. Two heavily armed guards stood at either side of the doors, though since they'd also seen her expression as she approached, they were careful not to make any sudden movements or even to look her in the eye. She glared at them for a second anyway, then waved them aside and entered her quarters without a backward glance.

She waited until the doors shut behind her before she let the fury slip from her expression. The anger had been useful, until now, to hide her other emotions, but while the fury had been genuine enough, it wasn't the strongest thing she'd been feeling. Nor was it the most dangerous of her emotions.

She sighed, crossed the room to her insanely large bed, threw herself onto the mattress. She lay on her stomach, face pressed into the blankets as another long sigh escaped her. _Things were getting too peaceful, I suppose. The gods probably decided I needed something to keep me from becoming complacent, and this is certainly that. _

A few precious moments passed, but no matter how many duties Mina was shirking, she didn't exactly feel bad about hiding. She remained where she was, her body almost unnaturally motionless, her fingers clenching the covers. She somehow managed to wince even with her eyes closed, and the moan that she didn't even try to suppress held equal measures of frustration and despair. _As many centuries as it's been since I saw him last, _she found herself tiredly musing, _you'd think this would be easier. _She felt as though her heart had been ripped out of her chest, and she knew it would only get worse when he actually stood before her.

She stiffened at the thought. _They'll expect me to smile when I see him, _she realized, _even welcome him with open arms. I trust Serena's judgment, but I can't do that. I never could control myself around him, and it'll only be worse now that the urge is to kill rather than to love. _

She suddenly rolled over, folded her arms over her stomach and looked up at the ceiling with troubled blue eyes. _I can't do this, _she thought again, and this time it was a decision. _I need a plan._

More minutes passed, and she continued to stare, almost without blinking, at the ceiling. Her perfect features twisted and eased, twisted again as she considered her dilemma and the choices before her. Then, after what could have been only seconds but felt like hours, the blonde queen settled on a course of action that would set Time itself on its ear.

"Pluto! I need you!"

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To say that Sailor Pluto hadn't been happy with Mina's plan would be to make an understatement of almost biblical proportions. The senshi of Time had paled as she learned of Mina's intentions, then retreated into a customary and slightly stony silence by way of answer.

"Well?" Mina finally asked anyway, allowing a little of her impatience to seep into her voice. "Are you going to help me or not?"

Setsuna frowned, but Mina's impatience had succeeded in drawing her out. "You don't know what you're asking."

Pluto's voice had been hard, deadly...threatening, but Mina neither flinched nor backed down. "No," she instantly disagreed, for once not trying to disguise the sharpness of her eyes, "I know _exactly _what I'm asking—of you, and of myself. I know the risks, Pluto, but I'm asking anyway."

She kept her eyes locked on Pluto's, tried to let the other senshi see the _need _in her gaze. It was hard, after so many years of keeping her emotions safely locked away, to let another know of her pain, but it had to be done. She forced herself to acknowledge that Pluto was one of the few she could trust with so much, if she could trust anyone at all, though that didn't make it any easier. "_Please, _Sets," she added softly, earnestly. "I have to do this."

Pluto was silent for a small eternity, her berry-red eyes darkening with hesitation, her sculpted brows drawing together as the blonde's words sunk in. She was perfectly aware that the use of her nickname had been deliberate, that Mina was trying to use friendship where every other approach would fail, but they'd been through too much together for Pluto to be angry over that. Setsuna didn't—couldn't—take offense over Mina's attempts at manipulation, not when centuries of fighting had taught them all to use everything they had. In any case, it was rare enough for Mina to ask for a favor at all. She wasn't the type to rely on anyone else, even the other senshi, and Setsuna couldn't ignore the implied desperation any more than she could ignore their bond.

Still, this wasn't a small thing Mina was asking, and neither friendship nor this unexpected display of trust could really be factors in the end. "No," Setsuna finally answered. "I'm sorry, Mina, but the answer is no."

Mina allowed one of her own perfect eyebrows to arch towards her hairline. "That's it? Just 'no'? Don't I at least get a reason?"

Pluto scowled, noticing that Mina didn't seem angry or surprised by the answer. _What game is Mina playing this time?_ "You already know the reason," the taller senshi immediately retorted, voice still hard. "The time line—"

"Isn't in any danger from me, not over this," Mina quickly interrupted. "I know better than to try and change anything, Pluto. How often have I done something like this, after all? Time travel is nothing new to me. You, of all people, shouldn't have to be reminded of that."

Setsuna's scowl deepened. "You've _never _done anything like this, Mina, and we both know it. Every time you've gone through the Gate, it was to a future already on the brink of apocalypse. We had nothing left to lose. And even if we had, it's much harder to change the past by visiting the future than it is to change the future through the past. One wrong move, Mina, and you could destroy everything we've built here." She shook her head. "I know you want some kind of closure, but you need to think of the consequences. We could lose everything."

Mina's eyes had narrowed sometime during Pluto's answer, but both her gaze and her resolve had yet to falter. "_You're _the senshi of Time," she bit back, undaunted. "You're the one who's supposed to know all, see all. Can't you keep me from mucking things up?"

Setsuna sighed. "It's not that easy, Mina. I don't _see _everything, and I can only control so much. Even if I were to watch you all of the time, take every step with you and guide your every word, it still wouldn't be enough. Futures change too easily and too often, and it's likely that I'd miss the one thing that makes a difference."

Mina's lips curled into the pale echo of a joyless smile. "Then watch what you can," she murmured, "and trust _me_ to watch _myself_." She sighed, shook her head. "You _can_ trust me, Setsuna," she told her friend. "I've lived through this once already—I know what has to happen, and I won't do anything to change it. I won't fight for them, won't tell them anything they don't already know. You have my word on that."

Silence met Mina's promise, and it was obvious that Setsuna either hadn't believed or wasn't willing to accept it. Mina bit her lip, decided to trust a little more. "It's not just about closure, Sets," she finally said, voice still soft. "I've had centuries to deal with what happened. Going back and watching it happen all over again, knowing I can't stop it…that won't change anything for me."

Mina paused suddenly, the rest of the explanation catching in her throat, the internal struggle clear on her features. Even after everything she'd already given, this was still more difficult than it should have been.

Setsuna waited in silence. It was in her nature to withhold judgment until she knew everything, though her eyes were heavy with a compassion she knew Mina wouldn't want. Venus didn't handle pity any better than she handled the offering of trust, but the compassion was there, all the same.

Though the blonde would never have enough trust in anyone to completely share her thoughts, the struggle with herself and her own instincts ended quickly. Mina looked up at her oldest friend, a shadow passing over her features, a frown curving her perfect lips. Then, in words that were curiously stilted, Mina finally gave the explanation for which Setsuna had been so patiently waiting.

The silence became deafening.

Then…

"Very well," Pluto eventually responded, "but there'll be conditions, Mina." She didn't wait for any sort of agreement from Mina, because this part wasn't negotiable. "I'll let you watch them, even speak with them, but they can't know who you are. And no matter what happens, Venus," she continued, voice becoming even more stern, "absolutely _no fighting."_

Mina's lips were pressed into a thin line, but she only nodded. She'd expected these 'conditions' of Setsuna's, after all, and she'd never had any intention of interfering in her younger self's battles anyway. As hard as they'd been, as much as they'd lost, she'd become stronger with every fight, every loss, and she'd needed that strength too often to risk it over a betrayal so far in the past. No matter how much it might hurt, Venus would do nothing more than watch.

There was more—of course there was more. Pluto would never be a willing participant in this, but even so, it wasn't in her nature to leave anything to chance. She and Mina talked late into the night, planning, deciding, hammering details into Mina's rather vague plans. Venus agreed to every one of Setsuna's stipulations, though she continued to keep her thoughts to herself.

She always kept her thoughts to herself.

Even Setsuna had to be satisfied eventually, and the two not-quite-human women turned to part ways. They both had much to do before Mina's departure, and a great deal of it had to be done in secret. Still, before the older woman could take her leave from Mina's bedroom, the blonde glanced up, lips curling in something that could somehow pass for either a smile or a frown. "If you're the senshi of Time," Mina suddenly asked, "why didn't you already know what I planned to do? I'd have thought you'd have seen this coming."

Setsuna sighed, and if it was long-suffering, Venus chose not to notice. "I never see you coming, Mina," she all but groaned. "Nobody ever does."

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Mina left just before dawn. Setsuna came for her while even the servants slept, bearing both a frozen expression and Serena's old Luna Pen. Mina accepted the device with a slight smile, allowed its power to wash over her. Setsuna watched with hesitant approval as Mina became someone else, as features changed and a new person took the Queen's place. Blonde hair became reddish brown, the blue gaze turned to green, and perfect features lost both the perfection and the immortal agelessness that so characterized all of the senshi of this era. Her body thinned and grew, lost some of the curves for which she had always been famous, though of course she was still more beautiful than any other woman could ever be. Only the eyes remained close to what they had been, a sort of haunted wisdom glinting beneath the grim humor, and not even the change in shape and size and color could disguise that.

It was, Setsuna decided, a good thing that Mina wasn't allowed to reveal her identity to her past self. There was too much sorrow in Mina's eyes, and while Venus had accepted the burdens she carried, her more sheltered past self would naturally want to know the cause of such pain. She couldn't, of course, because it was one thing to accept pain when it couldn't be avoided, and another to know of it and still let it happen. It would be more than inhuman to ask that of Selenity's Mina, and not even Pluto could be so heartless. Mina's disguise would be as much a protection of the ancient senshi's innocence as it was a preservation of the timeline, though she didn't think Mina had realized that yet.

Wouldn't, until she looked her younger self in the eye and finally understood just what her battles had cost her.

The transformation complete, Mina bent to retrieve the bag at her feet. Along with everything else, she and Setsuna had created a cover for the blonde, a way to get into the palace and stay close to the senshi without making them suspect who she truly was. One of Pluto's preparations had been to go back in time herself, set up Mina's alibi, and the bag was part of that. It would look odd, they'd both realized, for one of Mina's fictional background to be traveling without any supplies or personal items at all; the bag solved that, and some of the items might even prove useful.

Mina slung the bag over one shoulder, glanced almost involuntarily towards the doors. She'd sent the guards away—they were mostly for show anyway—but it wasn't unusual for Mina's sleep to be interrupted by some crisis, and this would be a bad time for it. Still, whatever gods there were must have been on her side for once, and she thought they might be able to do this in peace.

Venus nodded at Pluto, and while the blonde had been the supplicant in this case, they both knew the nod was an order.

Pluto responded accordingly. She closed her eyes for an instant, called upon the power within. The orb on the top of her staff began to glow, the purple energy exploding outwards in a sort of summoning. The energy shot out, coalesced into the tall, imposing shape that was the Gate of Time. The Gate solidified, slowly creaked open at Pluto's command.

Setsuna looked to Mina. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Stupid question, really, because while Mina was one of the more flexible senshi, she was also one of the most focused. Her path already decided, Venus would stick to it come hell or high water...or at least until something better came along, and in this case, everything had already been set in motion. It was too late for second thoughts.

Mina only nodded.

Pluto went through first, as was proper, leading a stony-faced not-Mina through the mists. Soon enough, they'd come to the matching Gate, and Setsuna's own face hardened as she unlocked the Doors. "Remember," she said before they could step through, "no fighting."

Mina rolled her eyes.

They entered the Gate.

And Mina's breath caught in her throat, because the woman standing on the other side, waiting to greet Pluto and her strange friend, was...herself.

_Of course it is, _Mina thought, and, almost as an afterthought: _Crap._


	2. Lost Innocence

**A.N.: **I've realized that having so many different Mina's running around—and into each other—is going to be confusing. From here on out (since I'm too lazy to go back and edit the last chapter), Crystal Tokyo's Mina will be Venus (though she and others will still occasionally refer to her/herself as Mina), the Silver Millennium's Mina will be Minako, and Tokyo's Mina will be, well, Mina.

Still confused? Try writing it.

Also, before any of you ask, it's been roughly three thousand years since the Silver Millennium ended (ergo, Crystal Tokyo has existed for nearly a thousand years). If you're not a Moonie and don't understand my reasoning…eh, your problem.

**And because nobody reads the Author's Notes, I'll say it one last time:**

**Crystal Tokyo's Mina—Venus**

**Tokyo's Mina—Mina**

**Silver Millennium's Mina--Minako**

**Also, I need a beta for this one. Any takers/suckers/masochists?**

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CHAPTER TWO: Lost Innocence

_They entered the Gate._

_And Venus' breath caught in her throat, because the woman standing on the other side, waiting to greet Pluto and her strange friend, was…herself._

Of course it is, _Venus thought, and, almost as an afterthought: _Crap.

She'd expected to run into herself. Of course she had—wasn't that partially the point of this?—but as Venus stared into the curious gaze of her former self, she found that she wasn't nearly as prepared as she'd thought. _Not that this is really the kind of thing one _can _be prepared for._

It wasn't like gazing in a mirror, and somehow she'd assumed that it would be. She'd thought to see only a physically younger version of herself, but this Venus was young in too many other ways. There was a simplicity in this Venus' eyes that hadn't been in her own in centuries, an innocence that she'd never thought to see in any reflection of herself. She didn't think anyone else would have noticed that out-of-place naiveté, but she also couldn't help wondering how it could have been there in the first place.

Had she ever been so much a child?

Something in her heart hardened even as it ached, and she forced her features into a carefully neutral expression. She met her counterpart's vaguely interested stare, curved her own lips into a polite smile. "Hello," she began. "I'm Setsuna's friend, Molly."

Something flickered in the other blonde's eyes, but even Venus couldn't read it. "I'm Minako," the other girl answered softly. Her gaze darted back towards Setsuna. "Lady Pluto."

The name was a greeting, but something in it had Venus' eyes sharpening. Was that…_fear_ in the other girl's voice? Or just uncertainty? _She acts like they're strangers. Why is she so uncomfortable? _

Venus still hadn't regained all of her memories of this time in her life—lives?—but even if she was still missing something crucial, her other self's uneasiness around Pluto didn't make sense. Setsuna was one of her closest friends, always had been. She was the senshi Venus trusted above all others, so why would her past self act like this?

She sent a quick glance Setsuna's way, not bothering to hide the question in her eyes. _What haven't you told me, Sets? _

Pluto was busy glaring at Venus' younger self and didn't offer any kind of answer.

At least Minako didn't wilt under Setsuna's glare—she was too much the senshi for that, no matter how _youthful _she might appear—but her discomfort was still a little too obvious.

_Interesting. She's practically twitching. _

Venus cleared her throat, bringing their attention back to herself before the tension became dangerous. "So," she began, pretending to smile ruefully, "Setsuna mentioned that you had a place for me to stay?" She allowed her smile to widen. "I'm kinda tired," she admitted. "Travel always wipes me out."

Minako blinked, confusion briefly dancing over her features. "Wipes you out?"

Venus' smile truly _was _rueful, this time. _Oops. Forgot. Sista's not down with my modern lingo. _

_And that sentence just _hurt. _Note to self: never do that again. _

"Molly?"

Venus blinked, then smiled again at her former self. "Sorry," she muttered. "Just an expression from my home world. Feel free to ignore me."

Curiosity instantly replaced the unease in Minako's face and posture. "Your home world? Where are you from, again?"

_Open mouth, insert foot. I'm screwing up already, aren't I? _

Venus shrugged. "Tokyo," she answered almost gently. "I'm from Tokyo."

Setsuna stiffened beside her.

Minako was still watching Venus, though her curiosity suddenly became more…absent. "Never heard of it," she admitted, her attention obviously no longer focused on Venus' answer. "Is it far from here?"

Venus couldn't help grinning, knowing that even if she'd slipped up, at least she hadn't hurt anything; Minako obviously didn't care about a world she'd never known existed. "Far, yes," she replied, voice just this side of flippant. "It'd take you about a thousand years to get there." _Well, just under _three_ thousand, to be exact…_

Pluto cleared her throat.

_Yes, yes, I know. Bad Mina._

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"Well?"

Venus glanced over at Setsuna, almost startled to hear the other senshi speak. Pluto had been silent since Minako had deposited the two older senshi in one of the guest suites, leaving Venus to her own thoughts as the smaller woman unpacked the few items she'd brought.

The former blonde paused and considered the question for only an instant, her lips curling into a sad smile. "She's a child," Venus admitted. "I'd known she wouldn't be as…experienced as I am, but I wasn't expecting her to be so…so…" She stopped, not knowing quite how to describe her younger self.

Sestuna didn't have that problem. "Innocent?"

Venus considered that as she finished putting the last of her belongings away. "I'm not sure innocence even covers it," she finally decided, though that had been her initial impression, as well. "She's supposed to be a warrior, but when I look at her, all I see is…oh, I don't even know. Not a warrior, at least." She turned, frowning as she tossed the empty bag into a corner of the room. It landed with a soft _thud_, the course material collapsing into a heap on the floor.

Venus leaned against the nearest wall, crossed her arms over her chest as a frown gathered in her eyes. "It's hard to believe I was ever like that," she quietly observed. "We've been fighting for so long, and I…" She cut herself off, suddenly glanced at her friend. "Is it wrong that I'm grateful for it?"

"Grateful that you're not like her?"

Venus nodded. "Yes." She sighed, bit her lip. "I can admit that I've become jaded, but some of the decisions I've had to make…as she is now, I think they would have been too much for her."

Setsuna considered that. "_I_ think," she eventually replied, "that you're underestimating her. Yes, she lacks experience…but you've always been strong, Mina. In all of your incarnations." She smiled a little, though the curving of her lips was more sad than anything else. "Give her a chance, Meens. She'll surprise you."

Pluto had never been one to offer empty compliments, but whatever Venus thought of the other senshi's words, she only shrugged. "It doesn't matter," she muttered, her features devoid of all emotion. "We didn't come to—"

The knock wasn't loud, but of course it was enough to silence Venus. She turned, moved swiftly to the door, pulled it open.

Minako was on the other side, expression glinting with the same curiosity she'd shown earlier. She smiled a quick greeting at her counterpart, though her expression tightened as she immediately turned to Setsuna. "The Queen heard that you were here, Lady Pluto," she began, her smile freezing a little as she looked to the senshi of Time. "She's hoping you'll attend the feast tonight."

Of course Selenity's request wasn't one, and Venus quelled the sudden flash of sympathy as Pluto's face tensed. The blonde didn't think even her younger self had noticed the pain that flashed so briefly through Pluto's eyes; even Venus would have missed it if she hadn't spent the last several centuries learning to see beyond the emotionless expression Pluto always wore.

And just as she saw the pain, Venus could also guess the reason for it: Selenity, the Queen they'd failed to save, though they'd all died trying.

The Queen they could _still _save, but only if they were willing to lose everything else.

_Temptation _didn't even _begin _to cover this one.

_My sacrifices are nothing compared to Setsuna's, _Venus found herself deciding as Minako bid her farewells and left them alone once more. _I have to live with my failures, with my losses, but at least my dead can only haunt me in the metaphorical sense. Setsuna's… _Venus stopped herself from shaking her head. _What strength must she have, to literally look her ghosts in the eye, knowing she could warn them, save them, yet also knowing she can't ever say a word?_

_Can I be as strong?_

She'd have to be.

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As it turned out, Selenity was not the first test.

Selenity would have been easier.

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They met in the gardens, the man Venus had crossed the centuries to watch and the woman she'd once been. It wasn't a planned meeting—that much was obvious from the surprise that so briefly flittered over their faces—but Venus, watching from her hiding place among the hedges, couldn't quite decide if the meeting was a welcome one, either. Both man and woman were too quick to tuck their emotions away, conceal them behind carefully guarded expressions, and Venus realized that she no longer knew either of them well enough to see beyond the masks they'd pulled over their features.

It surprised her, this inability to read them. Malachite she could understand—it'd been nearly two thousand years since she'd even seen him, after all, and another thousand beyond that since she'd looked for anything beyond hate or disdain in his eyes. No surprise that he'd become little more than a stranger to her, for all that she—

Venus almost ruthlessly killed the thought before it could finish forming, instead refocused her attention on the woman. Minako was exchanging a few distantly polite pleasantries with the man who would one day take her life, her lips frozen in a similarly polite smile. Venus stared at her, feeling almost…cold as the questions that had brought her to this century picked away at her own composure.

She pushed those away, as well, turned with equally guarded eyes to her taller companion. "I don't remember any of this," she admitted in a soft, almost apologetic voice. She sighed, though the sound was quiet enough that even Setsuna wouldn't have heard. "Tell me, Sets—does she love him yet?"

It was Setsuna's turn to glance over at her shorter friend. She considered the question for a long moment, and then she, too, sighed. "I can't answer that," she finally said. "I can't see inside her head, Mina, and she's so guarded around him that I can't judge by her actions, either."

Venus almost smiled, though the not-quite-curving of her lips held more bitterness and regret than anything else. "We both know that's a sign in itself, Sets. If she didn't feel something for him, she'd have nothing to guard." The blonde looked back at her other self, watching silently as her targets finally put an end to what was clearly a stilted conversation. They both turned and began to walk in opposite directions, Malachite moving a little too stiffly, Minako a little too slowly.

"She's already in love with him," Venus muttered, almost wincing as Minako paused, glanced lingeringly over her shoulder at the silver-haired man's back before continuing on her way once more. "And damn them both for it."

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For all that she'd chosen to wear her senshi's uniform rather than the required formal gown—or perhaps because of this—Pluto's arrival at Selenity's nightly gala caused something of an uproar. Setsuna was a legend even among this people, and too many of the guests were staring openly as the tall, imposing woman moved through them to Selenity's dais.

Outwardly, Setsuna gave little sign that she'd even noticed. Inwardly, she was probably squirming.

_I'm going to owe her big time for this, _Venus thought. _As shy as she is, this is probably hell for her. She's a better friend than I deserve, I think._

Venus sighed, tore her eyes away from her fellow senshi and focused instead on the tray of hors d'oeuvres balanced so precariously in her hands. The blonde—no longer blonde, and no longer sporting "Molly's" red-brown hair—weaved carefully through the throng of dancers, offering appetizers to the very people making Setsuna so uncomfortable. She hid her distaste for their ogling behind a bright smile, though of course most of them were too focused on Setsuna to notice her expression anyway.

_And why should they? I'm just the serving girl. They don't even see me._

The thought was amusing enough that, for just an instant, her smile became genuine. _Innocent snobs, the lot of them, _the woman mused almost fondly as she tossed her pale, Lunar-silver hair over her shoulder.

The smile abruptly faded as Pluto came to stand in front of the queen, as the dark-haired senshi dropped to one knee and murmured her greetings to the slender monarch. _Better than I deserve, _Venus thought again, watching with an aching heart as the queen smiled a welcome.

Venus tore her eyes from her friend and her ruler, swiftly concealed her guilt behind another falsely bright smile and wrapped her fingers a little more securely around her tray. She turned away, began scanning the room for her targets. Minako was nowhere in sight, but Venus felt her breath catch in her throat as her pale eyes eventually landed on a tall, silver-haired figure in a grey uniform.

_Jackpot. _

Venus continued smiling even as her heart clenched, began casually making her way across the room to the silver-eyed general. She couldn't quite force her eyes away from her former lover, though she paused now and then to offer hors d'oeuvres to the guests, trying to keep up the pretense in spite of her rather blatant staring.

As least she wasn't the only one gaping at the taciturn human. Snobs they might be, but more than one member of the court clearly found the human general attractive, and most of them were being far more obvious than Venus. _I can always pass myself off as a fangirl, _she quickly decided, eyes still riveted on Malachite's tanned face. _As gorgeous as he is…it'd be believable. _

She would always wonder, later, if Malachite had somehow sensed her gaze. Or perhaps some higher power was simply laughing at her. Whatever the reason, Malachite suddenly glanced up, and against all odds and even from across this crowded room, his silver eyes immediately landed on hers.

Venus' heart stopped completely, started again when a jolt of…_something_ lanced through her body. That something set every cell on fire, stole the air from her lungs and left her gasping, disoriented, physically drained.

…_the hell?_

Their eyes had locked for only an instant before Malachite looked away again, but that slight movement of his head was enough to bring Venus back to herself. She almost flinched, paled instead, realized that whatever had happened, she'd been staring a little _too _openly even for an admirer. She swallowed, immediately turned to offer another appetizer to the first guest who crossed her path.

_Coincidence, _she told herself, her thoughts still shaky. _That's all it was. No human could ever recognize the real me under all this magic. That glance meant nothing. _

When she dared look up again, Malachite was gone.

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**Venus Smurf's Jokes of the Day: **

Every fight is a food fight when you're a cannibal.

"I've got a phone, an answer machine, a TV set, a computer, and a hand grenade—everything you need to run a business in Los Angeles." (Ice T)

Send me your jokes, and I'll include them in the next chapter!

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**My thanks to: **Pendragon'sGurl, Chibi-Yaten, Chrystalline Tears, judith9, AnnechanB, Sassy-Chan, BN, IthinkIloveyou, A.Lee, XYRDXD, JadesRose, and minamine for the reviews! 


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